The United States, Southeast Asia, And Historical Memory

(Paperback)

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The United States, Southeast Asia, and Historical Memory sheds crucial new light on the epochal US interventions in Southeast Asia after World War II. The United States came out of the Indochina wars with a tarnished reputation, as evidence of their behaviours came to light. Now - as U.S. war crimes in other countries like Afghanistan and Iraq continue to blight the country - Mark Pavlick and a group of scholars provide insight into some of the first and the worst war crimes perpetrated by the American military. Includes essays from Noam Chomsky.

Reviews

"The text Pavlick and Luft have put together is both history and forewarning. By the very nature of its subject matter, it can not be light reading. It barely touches the catalog of horrors that the US war on the people of Southeast Asia was. At the same time, it is a useful and potent introduction to a history too few US residents truly know and one that most US leaders would like to hide. There is no respite from the true nature of the war on Southeast Asia in these pages. Indeed, the only relief can be found in the knowledge that all proceeds from the books sale will go to humanitarian assistance in Indochina."CounterPunch Extremely important and pertinent. The importance of the historical events and arguments made in this book cannot be overstated; the government of the United States waged war against the three countries of Indochina for years, even though none had harmed the United States or were vital to American security or geopolitical interests. In the course of those wars, massive atrocities were committed, undoubtedly war crimes. The United States has never taken responsibility for those actions nor has it punished the criminals who committed these acts Moreover, the extent of these atrocities have been kept from the American public and the lack of historical awareness of these events prevents Americans from learning important lessons about how their government acts in their names and precludes learning important lessons to prevent any other occurrences such as these. Critical Asian Studies "A well-researched and powerfully presented overview...." David Swanson Within the academic disciplines of international relations and diplomatic history, there still exists the perception that the U.S military engagement in Southeast Asia was an honorable but ill-advised adventure. Moral outrage is often absent among historians and political scientists. Mark Pavlicks edited volume illuminates these American wars as a denial of democracy, and a crime against humanity. The United States, Southeast Asia, and Historical Memory has educated me, and it should educate my colleagues. Lubna Qureshi, author of Nixon, Kissinger, and Allende: U.S. Involvement in the 1973 Coup in Chile

Author Bio

Mark Pavlick is an independent editor. He was active in the U.S. movement against the Indochina wars in volunteer work with the Indochina Mobile Education Project and the Indochina Resource Center in Washington, D.C.